The official student newspaper of florida Tech
September 7, 2011 Wednesday
Fall 2011 Issue 2
spring, issue 1
January 22, 2013
New Catholic dorms to house 140 students upon completion in August
Funding committee has important, but lesserknown role on campus Allison McLellan Staff Writer
photo courtesy of ralph locurcio The groundbreaking for Mary, Star of the Sea was held on Dec. 7.
Kelsey McMullan Sci/Tech Editor Beginning in August, Florida Tech students, including new freshmen, will be able to choose to live in a Catholic residence hall to be called Mary, Star of the Sea. The residence hall is open to all students, Catholic or otherwise. The main goal behind creating this residence hall is to create a tight-knit Christian community on the campus. The new residence will be going up south of the Landmark Apartments on the east side of Babcock street and is expected to house 140 students. The rooms will be private and are laid out similarly to Columbia Village with a shared bath and common area, but the halls will be divided by gender like Roberts Hall. “I think it’s great,” said Laura Whitney, a graduate student. “It will give students that lose sight of their faith the opportunity to live with other students that share their faith.” The new residence will be one
of only a handful of Catholic dorms on secular college campuses across the county. “There is a residence hall for Catholic students at Notre Dame University and the University of Illinois,” said Rev. Doug Bailey, Florida Tech’s Catholic chaplain. “The University of Illinois always has a waiting list for their residence hall.” The building is being funded by a Newman Connection program. Cardinal John Henry Newman had a vision to build Catholic residences on non-religious colleges in order to create a stronger religious connection for college students. “The residence becomes like a fraternity or sorority. It forms a tight knit Christian community,” Bailey said. “We want freshman to be there from day one to help form that community. My hope is once they begin living there they will want to keep living there and continue that bond.” Father Bailey is striving to create and build a tradition and a strong community within the dorm. He hopes that someday the
residence hall will be as popular as the one at Illinois and have a waiting list every year. “It depends how it is advertised,” said freshman Caitlin Wood. “I think it’s an outstanding and unique part of campus though.” The new hall is still campus property and all the rules and regulations in place in the other dorm halls will be in effect in the new building. There will be minor differences though including visiting hours and other policies that will be based off Catholic practices. Resident assistants will also receive extra training from Bailey and his staff. The new building will also feature a small worship chapel and fellowship hall that will be shared with Melbourne Central Catholic School. One of the fun features of the building is that it is the closest residence to the dining hall. “It’s about three steps closer than Harris Village,” said Bailey. Students will just need to make sure to successfully dodge the traffic on Babcock.
When it comes to giving money to campus organizations, the biggest player in the game is the Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC). But even though the SAFC is responsible for giving out an average of $200,000 per year in funding, many students have no idea what the committee actually does or who its members are. The SAFC is responsible for handling money received from the $30 student activities fee that all full-time Florida Tech graduate and undergraduate students pay each semester. “This is a hard job to do,” said Josh Goldfarb, SGA treasurer and chairman of the SAFC. “There are so many clubs who want money, and there isn’t enough to go around. It’s hard to justify giving the money to some and not others.” The committee consists of members of six of FIT’s Big Seven –Student Government, the Campus Activities Board, the Crimson, the Kaleidoscope, FITV and Florida Tech College Radio. These organizations, as well as Greek Life, are not eligible to receive funding from SAFC, and have been chosen to make up the committee for that reason. “They try to be fair to all organizations,” said Joanne Green, student affairs financial coordinator and SAFC adviser. “They have a very big responsibility, and they try their best to meet the needs of all organizations. There’s no bias.” SAFC has seen some changes recently. The January 16 meeting was the first for several new committee members. Michael Quintero, an SGA senator, replaced another SGA member on the committee. “I’m excited. It shows you where the money goes,” Quintero said. Various factors were weighed when deciding who received funding. Organizations that already collected dues and had done fundraising in the past were more likely to get full or partial funding than
organizations that had not. A common theme at the Jan. 16 meeting centered around the Student Activities Funding Committee Document, a manual that outlines what the committee can and can’t fund. Few of the requests that were reviewed at the January 16 meeting appeared were completed fully and accurately. Portions of the required form were sometimes left blank, and the requisite breakdown of the items to be purchased with the requested funding was often incomplete or incorrectly totaled. “It can be frustrating at times,” Goldfarb said. “If they need the rules explained, that’s why I’m there.” Many of the requested items that were denied were expressly stated in the non-fundable requests section of the SAFC document. Food for general meetings, club tshirts and capital equipment are all listed in this section and multiple requests were made and denied based on these items. Since May 1, 2012, the committee has received 94 submissions, 74 of which were approved. “That’s a 78% approval rate, which is pretty good,” Green said. Thus far, $181,100.07 has been requested of SAFC and $131,644.64 has been allocated, Green said. Any money that SAFC has left at the end of the year is then eligible to be used by Student Government or it may be rolled over into the next year’s budget. Money left over from SAFC was used to purchase equipment in the newly-renovated Evan’s Student Center, Green said. Although extra money can be rolled over, that doesn’t always happen. Goldfarb has noticed that costs have risen and requests have gotten larger in his two years as committee chairman. In the event that funds run out, no more requests will be accepted. “We wish we could give everyone money,” said Goldfarb, “but once all of that is gone, it’s gone.”
Health Center pushes flu shots to combat spread of influenza Hershlay Raymond Campus Life Editor It could begin with a cough from your roommate or a sneeze from a professor. In the early months of the year, flu season begins and the virus spreads quickly. Flu viruses spread through contact and can live up to 12 hours on a solid surface. “If someone with the flu coughs into his hand and then touches a doorknob, the virus is now on that doorknob,” said Dr. Julia Grimwade, professor of biological sciences. That virus can then be transferred to anyone touching the doorknob. The simplest way to avoid the flu, according to Deborah Marino, director of the Holzer Health Center, is by getting a flu shot. “It’s frustrating to me when people don’t get flu shots,” Marino said. “Two of my employees are
out for the week with the flu because they didn’t get their flu shot. One $20 flu shot is much better than being in bed for five days and missing all of your classes.” The flu shot, however, seems to be unpopular amongst students. “People don’t get flu shots because they don’t like shots, it’s as simple as that,” said Grimwade. At the Health Center, flu shots are becoming less painful. “We have these new intradermal shots. It’s a needle that’s smaller than an insulin needle. You can hardly feel it. Very minimal pain,” said Marino. Contrary to popular belief, Marino says you won’t get sick from getting the vaccine. “The flu shot doesn’t give you the flu,” said Marino. Besides vaccination, some general rules basic hygiene can help avoid infections. “Everyone should cough or
sneeze into his or hers sleeve, not their hands,” said Grimwade, “Wash your hand frequently, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ quietly under your breath twice while you’re washing them. That’s how long you need to wash them.” For students who have already contracted the flu, Marino says an antiviral medication is the best option. The earlier they are taken, the more effective the drugs are. The flu is worse this season than in previous years, but on campus, the flu has not spread as quickly. “The flu seems like less of an issue on this particular campus,” said Grimwade, “It may be because you guys go outside a lot and being inside in a closed, contained area is going to spread it more quickly. Sure, people are getting the flu, but it’s not as bad here than in other places.”
photo by Katie skura A Holzer Health Center employee adminsters a flu shot.
gadget corner
coach billy mims
Staff writer Joseph Stoltz discovers a fridge that will make you smile.
Sports editor David Barkholz talks with one of the best coaches at Florida Tech.
See gadget, pg 4
See coach, pg 10
campus life................. 2 sci/tech....................... 4 entertainment............ 5 OPINIONS....................... 9 sports........................ 10